It is desirable to provide a grab handle on the A-pillar of a motor vehicle to provide a gripping location for passengers entering or exiting the vehicle. Passengers may exert large forces on the grab handle as they enter or exit the vehicle, particularly when the vehicle has a high ride height. The grab handle may couple directly to the structure of the A-pillar to allow forces applied to the grab handle to be transferred directly in to the vehicle structure.
Many modern vehicles are equipped with side air curtain bags, which can be deployed during a collision to extending over a portion of the door and cushion an impact between a passenger of the vehicle and the door.
The grab handle must be placed in a suitable position so that it does not interfere with the deployment of the side air curtain bag. However, in some cases it may be desirable to include a grab handle in a location where an inflatable portion of the side air curtain bag is present.